New Luton business House Planted encourages customers to 'take pride in town and shop local'

Staff at a new Luton houseplant business are encouraging customers to support the high street and feel pride in their town.

House Planted, based at Luton Indoor Market, first opened its doors on April 12 and was delighted to welcome in folks to browse around its luscious leaves and decorative pots.

The exotic house plant specialists hope the rise of small businesses will keep the town thriving and encourage customers to ditch online stores and shop local.

Kelsie Holdstock, of House Planted, told the Luton News: "We've been completely blown away by how well the shop has done in the first month. We just wanted to break even but it's been really been quite profitable.

"There are people who think that, because some of the big businesses are not in the town centre anymore, that there's no point going into Luton.

"We wanted to get in contact to let people know what's going on in the town. There's quite a few new businesses that have opened up and there's a whole range of things happening."

Kelsie and her partner, Ed Holdstock, first launched their business online in October 2020, before holding pop up events, and finally secured a stall at Luton Indoor Market.

Before the lockdown, Ed used to be a gardener, but when the pandemic hit and people started tend to their own flora and fauna, work dried up.

Kelsie said: "By Christmas we were doing the pop up markets and decided to take a leap and set up the market. It's going really well.

"We have had really good feedback from members of the public and from people who have been working in the market for a long time.

"We are attracting new clients and if you want to come and look round we can shine a light on different plants and make recommendations."

The couple have had help from work experience student, Ruby, who has been painting beautiful designs on the shop pots, while they have also been offering giveaways of plants on social media.

Their children, William, nine, and Holly, four, have loved getting involved, too, with Holly accumulating quite a plant collection in her bedroom!

On inspiring the next generation, Kelsie added: "I was speaking to somebody the other day who had moved to Luton recently from London, and said that there was so much potential about the town.

"There are some businesses in Luton that are doing really well and if you focus on the positive, then it has the potential to be a great place.

"There are lots of young professionals and students.

"Come and have a look in the market and see what you pick out. Don't just rely on big chains!"

House Planted is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays in Luton Indoor Market from 10am to 5pm.

The business is also proud to work with Helaena Blanch Art, Macrame Love, Amy Panda, and talented artist Ruby Collins.

Summing up the business, Kelsie concluded: "Ed is a reptile enthusiast who loves creating live planted terrariums; you’ll mainly find them taking care of the plants and serving customers in store, selecting new stock and packing orders.

"I'm an adult education teacher who works full time teaching Employability Skills remotely and looking after our social media. You’ll normally see me in the shop on a Saturday.

"House Planted’s mission is to bring joy to your home whether that’s by delivering well cared for, exotic house plants direct to your door or helping you choose the perfect plant in our beautiful shop. We aim to be as environmentally friendly as possible."

This June, House Planted will be donating 10 per cent of its profits to AKT, the national LGBTQ+ youth homeless charity.

Kelsie added: "House Planted is an LGBTQ+ inclusive business and a place where we can be ourselves, defy gender norms, and spread a bit of positivity."

Visit: https://www.facebook.com/LutonIndoorMarketLU1To find out more about Luton Indoor Market, visit: https://lutonindoormarket.co.uk/index.php/shop-and-eat/To find out more about the businesses House Planted works with, visit:

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